


To Break a Nation of Nightmares

by art3misthehuntress



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: 600s, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Historical, Historical Hetalia, I Tried, May Not be Completely Accurate, Now Those Feels Are Yours, One Shot, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Young Russia Gives Me Feels, for now, headcanon based
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-20
Updated: 2016-05-20
Packaged: 2018-06-09 12:37:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6907549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/art3misthehuntress/pseuds/art3misthehuntress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Instead of working on any of the numerous fics I have stored in my Google Drive, my brain demanded to work on this plot bunny. Historical hetalia fics are pretty much my favorite type of stories in the fandom, but I really wanted to do one on Russia incorporating my own personal headcanons on how he got to be known as the scary, slightly psychotic country he is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Break a Nation of Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> I know basically nothing about Russian history until it reaches the 1900s, so if anything is inaccurate I apologize. It was especially hard to get an approximate date for the founding of the trade city of Novgorod. According to waytorussia.net, the town was first mentioned in the Russian chronicles in 859, and missinglink.ucsf.edu says that the city came under Scandinavian ruler Rurik in 862. Therefore I backtracked about two centuries to (hopefully) get a time when the city had not emerged yet. It should also be mentioned that the next chapter will probably take place along with Rurik and the Varangians. Until Russia becomes a slightly more unified state, he will probably be referred to as Novgorod, an idea I am stealing from a few fics about Finland (cinnamon roll that could kill you, just wait until we reach the Winter War). This first chapter is loosely based on the headcanon that the personification of a country is created when the first few cities separate from the culture of a neighboring country emerge. Novgorod was not the first Russian city to emerge, that distinction belongs to Kiev. However, I really love the city and decided to use it as the location for now. More notes are located at the end of the chapter.

September, the early 600s

The silver-blond boy woke up alone on the forest floor to soft snowflakes drifting down from rows of fir trees stretching to the heavens above. He smiled at the clouds, liking the way the icy crystals lazily spiraled from the skies onto his cheeks, pink from the cold. Wind rustled through the tree branches, whispering secrets to the boy about an area spanning the continent, an area that contained few migrating peoples and even fewer settlements. 

Echoes of water rushing over rocks permeated the trills of songbirds. Struggling to his feet, the boy pulled his beige coat tighter around his shoulders, drawing the collar up to keep out the chill. He stood over a nearby ridge and peered at the wide expanse of frosted earth before him. A vast, sparkling river flowed swiftly over clusters of stones, creating foam currents that were quickly swept away.* Two enormous brown bears stood in a shallow area near the shore, attempting to snap their massive jaws around one of the fish that occasionally lept from the water’s surface midstream, taunting the creatures from afar. As the sun slipped lower over the horizon, it began to cast a warm, orange glow on the icy tundra. Turning away from the river, the boy glanced at the forest’s edge. He would soon begin to build his own house on the riverbank, and others would follow his lead. Tonight however, he would sleep with the deer and red squirrels under the blanket of night, tracing patterns in galaxies and stars. He hoped his future would burn as bright as they did, blinding and unforgettable. The boy clenched his fists. He would not be forgotten.

Beside him, a single sunflower poked up from a frozen bank, stem bent but petals intact. It came free easily when the boy gave it a single tug, slipping it carefully into his inside pocket. This was his land. This was the beginning of Novgorod.

**Author's Note:**

> * The Volkov River. It freezes in November and breaks up in April.  
> Comment/Kudos please? They feed my ego xD  
> Also looking for somebody that speaks Russian for future translations! Just a line or two per chapter at most hopefully.


End file.
